by Ryan Gray

Created on: December 04, 2012

Once the participants are determined in the Conference Championship games, the excitement level rises almost immediately toward the Super Bowl – the annual gridiron battle to determine the National Football League’s best team.

There are 14 days for fans, players, coaches, etc., to get prepared for the Big Game. Since many events happen during the Super Bowl buildup that don’t happen at any other point in the season, there is an air of excitement surrounding just about everything leading up to the contest.

With this much anticipation saturating the event, it seems that every Super Bowl would be a game unlike any other and one that is impossible to forget. But a select few during the nearly five decades since the contest began have stood out above the rest as the most exciting in history.

1970: V – Baltimore 16, Dallas 13

Despite 10 turnovers, the contest produced an exciting ending as the Colts came back to win in the fourth quarter. Trailing 13-6, the Colts scored a touchdown early in the period to tie the score. Then with just five seconds left, Baltimore kicker Jim O’Brien booted a 32-yard field goal to secure the victory for his team.

1988: XXIII – San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16

With just over three minutes to play, the Bengals held a 16-13 lead and the 49ers were 92 yards from the end zone. However, San Francisco’s Joe Montana engineered an 11-play drive from there that helped cement his reputation as one of the best late-game quarterbacks of all-time. The final play of the drive was a 10-yard touchdown pass from Montana to John Taylor with 34 seconds on the clock that gave the 49ers the lead and their third Super Bowl Championship.

1990: XXV – NY Giants 20, Buffalo 19

After controlling the ball for more than 40 minutes and setting a Super Bowl record, the Giants took a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter on Matt Bahr’s 21-yard field goal. But the Bills still had time for a comeback. After they put themselves in position to win, Scott Norwood booted a 47-yard field goal with eight seconds left that would have given Buffalo the victory. However, the kick sailed wide right and the Giants held on for the victory.

1999: XXXIV – St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16

The Rams built a 16-0 lead midway through the third quarter, before the Titans began to chip away at the lead. They eventually tied the score with 2:12 to play. But on the next play from scrimmage, St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner connected

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>